Hello! I post!

I had earned myself a place of embarrassment. The story of me reading to the boys had leaked out and become a tad warped in the process. Some one had added a few, nasty touches. Like I was stripping as I did it. The administration had caught wind of this and considered moving me to a different room where I would cause less trouble. But because it was only a rumor, they left me alone. I think they left me because I was the only girl rooming with a guy, and because they kept a close watch on me. I was getting restless in the school, often watching the moon and stars at night, wishing to get out and run around. I hated the total lack of freedom in this place. Everything we did was structured, ridgid and obviously time proven tradition.

English had become the most miserable subject of all. Donelly was suddenly cracking down and sucking all of the fun out of it. The entire class loathed her teaching so. We recited foot and meter. We wrote out long lists of sound devices. Metonymy, alliteration, consonance, assonance, metaphor, simile, so forth and so on, we knew them all. A right pain they were too. After steadfastly refusing to let any boy other than Rob into the room for about two weeks, I let them in the night we were supposed to read 'The Raven'. With a week to go 'til Halloween it was quite appropriate. But once again, no one could quite grasp the mood of it. I said it was a haunting, melodramatic thing when you got into it. They said nay, it was just plain dull.

I let them go back to whining over English and trading answers for other classes to sit at the window and look at the near full moon. Then it hit me, why not go for a little stroll in the dark woods and read 'The Raven'? It was perfectly spooky and what not. And I could use a good illegal run about. But being new I knew nothing about the nighttime workings of the school. Obviously there had to be some one on patrol, and maybe an alarm system. And I would have to know my way around in the dark, know landmarks and all that jazz. So I made little plans in my head.

Now, I think I have to discuss one of the drawbacks of sharing a room with Rob. He's extremely neat (I was right!), way too neat for anyone our age. Our room, or his side at least, was always impeccably clean. I am a messy person, period. I heard that it was the sign of a genius; Rob contradicted this notion powerfully. Our argument was often over my art supplies. While most of the time they were hidden from prying eyes that might remove them, they did run a tendency to travel about the room. Once, in a fit of inspiration and while Rob was somewhere else, my chalk pastels wandered over to his bad and ultimately shed pink, green and yellow all over his sheets. His reaction was, well, less than pleased.

"What happened?" he was just bluntly staring at the bed. I was nervously smiling.

"Oops?"

"What happened?"

"I wasn't thinking."

"Do you ever think?"

"Sometimes."

"I'm not sleeping in that."

"So you're going to get friendly with the floor then?"

"How about you sleep with the pink and I use your bed?"

"What?"

"Switch, now."

For the most part, Rob was the sort who used full sentences and thoughts unless there was something that seriously had him perturbed. Messes I made was one of things at the top of his list at the moment. And besides it was too late find clean sheets. So I slept in the pink mess and Rob got into my sheets and promptly sat on a pencil. I had never actually fallen asleep after Rob and I found out why it was better that I was asleep before him. He snored, loudly. I had my head beneath the pillow, which pleasant either, it reeked of cologne. I was ready to scream. It was going to be a very long night.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

If the next morning I was horribly cranky, there was a reason but I would never admit to it. I arrived to breakfast late and had to sit next to Annette, who kept sniffing like she smelt something. She asked who on earth was wearing that god-awful perfume. Then it hit me, it was me; I must have smelled like Rob's cologne. It was the perfect way to start a thoroughly miserable day.

First, in Chemistry I screwed up a pop quiz. That was enough to make me distracted for French. When M. Noir asked 'Fais-tu ses deviors?'1 I answered, 'Euh, je ne sais pas.'2 and was given extra homework and detention. During Trig, I fell asleep and thankfully Geoff kicked that back of my seat to get me up, but still, I fell asleep! In Fine Arts, while using chalk pastels, I sneezed and knocked over a grand total of six, yes six, easels when I jumped backwards. For History, I lost my homework, but was able to remember all of the answers called upon. The assignment wasn't collected, thank god, but I think the teacher was suspicious. English, I hadn't read 'The Raven', what a surprise I'd gotten sidetracked, but remembered enough from freshman year to get by on the skin of my teeth. I just barely made it to P.E. without trying to escape the grounds.

As I was changing, I stubbed my toe on the wall. Watch out for those things, they can really sneak up on you. I let a few choice words fly. The girl next to me, a nerdy looking one, peeked her head around the corner of her stall.

"Tough day?"

"You don't know the half of it."

"We all have our days. I'm Sabrina Meeks."

"Charlie Dalton."

"But that's a-"

"Boy's name. Yeah, I know. My given is Charlotte."

"I don't blame you then."

"So how old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"Same here."

"Which class are you in? I think I have to run."

"Last time, we go to play soccer because the cross country team was using the track. The nerve!"

"Yeah, the nerve!"

And I so made my first friend who was a girl.

1 'Did you do your homework?'

2 'I don't know.'

Yes!!!!! I posted a chapter!!! I'm sooo happy! Try to pull me down; it can't be done!! (dances around wildly) YES!!! SOOOO HAPPY! and i have the first illustration ready to go. you have to e-mail me for it and make sure your online account accepts pictures. it's a cartoon really because i don't have time to do a 'real' drawing. ok? ok, i'll see you later. - the Druidess -

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Okay, study group. Meeks aced Latin. I didn't quite flunk English. So, if you want, we've got our study group.